Eve de Castro-Robinson introduced her Karlheinz Company programme as music that was vivid, visceral and singular.

Alex Taylor is one of our busiest composers, as happy and able to write symphonic scores for our country's major orchestras, as well as a host of smaller pieces.

Those familiar with the Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Alice Sara Ott may wonder what she is doing in on The Chopin Project.

The "world's most successful" pianist Richard Clayderman and internationally renowned Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang are coming to NZ this year.

Bramwell Tovey's Time Tracks was a blunt, noisy launch for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's Aotearoa Plus, its annual concert of "cutting-edge contemporary".

In 2015, Deutsche Grammophon released a double CD of Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov's 2008 Salzburg Festival recital.

It was distressing to see so many empty seats at the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's Spirit of Anzac concert.

By the standards of present-day "Back-to-Baroquers", Mendelssohn was a musical meddler.

Harpsichordist Christophe Rousset and his three colleagues certainly gave us the perfect soundtrack for such a delicious fantasy.

Two attractive new releases feature Valencia, alongside Katherine Austin, mining the repertoire for cello and piano, both substantial and stocking-filler.

I'm tempted to borrow a phrase from French composer Francoise Sagan and greet Nicola Benedetti and Leonard Elschenbroich with a cheery "Aimez-vous Brahms?" as the couple are about to play Sagan's Double Concerto.

Christophe Rousset, one of the world's top harpsichordists, visits New Zealand next week.

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra launches its Degenerate, Denounced, Outraged mid-year series. 's adven

Mahler's Third Symphony was the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's spectacular contribution to the 2009 Auckland Arts Festival.

Working with the legendary Boulez was an unforgettable experience, says Barenboim.

This year sees the return of Unwrap the Music, 3 early evening concerts where conductor Richard Gill introduce pieces coming up in later programmes.

Magdalena Kozena's new Monteverdi album makes one realise why Leo Schrade titled his 1930 study of the Italian, Monteverdi: Creator of Modern Music.

In 2000, Uri Caine's bold transformation of Bach's Goldberg Variations into a vibrant encyclopedia of styles blew welcome raspberries into complacent ears.

Poetry and power merged as promised for Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of young Spanish conductor Antonio Mendez.

Hopes of adding a Grammy to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's awards cabinet have been dashed after the accolade was handed to the Boston orchestra instead.

A Sunday afternoon recital by the Tennant-Austin Duo provided a stylish launch for Auckland's concert year.

Australian Stuart Maunder has led the New Zealand Opera company for the past two years. He directed Tosca, now out in cinemas nationwide, and confesses to an unhealthy obsession with Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

Playing Gershwin with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2012, Freddy Kempf was a sleek cheetah on the keys, caressing moody chromaticisms into sinuous life.